Typography

Share This

AFTER a year of discourse and gathering aspirations and ideas from the younger generation for the 2050 National Transformation (TN50), Youth and Sports Ministry is ready to present the final report to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Since January last year, the ministry has engaged youths nationwide through dialogue sessions, workshops and online channels to listen to their aspirations and ideas for the future of the country.

The grassroots approach from bottom up is the Government’s first initiative in the context of planning for the future of Malaysia and it has received encouraging response.

More than 135 dialogue sessions were held throughout the country, engaging almost two million youths of various backgrounds and this has garnered over 60,000 unique aspirations.

The exploration series of the dialogue took it to Terengganu, Johor, Perak, Kelantan, Kedah, Perlis, Penang, Negri Sembilan and the Federal Territories.

It was also held in Sabah and Sarawak where youths of various ethnicities were gathered to share their aspirations.

The more than 60,000 unique aspirations that were garnered were then translated into several main chapters, which outlined common areas and themes that youths were attentive to and also those who wanted innovative and visionary global community thinking, a country that preserves the natural resources, a united society in diversity, a nation that maintains the culture and customs and the aspect of equality applied to all societies in Malaysia.

The aspirations were then refined and debated through a series of TN50 Circles of the Future workshops consisting of youth ambassadors, youths and subject experts.

The improved inputs have now been formulated into the TN50 Youth Canvas Report that will be submitted to the Prime Minister on Wednesday.

Through the dialogues, it was discovered from an economic standpoint the youth would like Malaysia to be one of the most competitive nations globally, and for Malaysia to be a hub for technology to meet the needs of the fourth industrial revolution. They would also like to see the country heading towards cashless transactions which are more convenient allowing for the collection of data.

They also want more job opportunities, particularly for local graduates; and lower rates of unemployment. They emphasised having a more dynamic working environment, whether it’s the ability to work from home when they need to, or having flexible working hours, facilities to de-stress such as quiet corners or a games room. Many of them also said they would like to see women more empowered and given more support to pursue their careers and hold higher positions in organisations.

Many also want to see a more entrepreneurial society with more start-ups, whereas past generations were more interested in working for well-known organisations.

They want to see an education system that is less theory-based and more practical so that they can explore and have a more authentic experience. Education should also be accessible to all quarters of society, and inclusive for people of all abilities and ages.

Under the TN50 youth initiative, the Youth and Sports Ministry has established a strategic partnership with several corporate organisations to raise awareness among the public about TN50 and to gather more aspirations as well as launched collaborations with corporate bodies that wanted to realise the aspirations voiced out by the youths for 2050 now.

The TN50 Youth Canvas Report highlights draft on the TN50 website is the condensed version of the final report which summarises the aspirations of more than two million youths.

The aspirations gathered have been arranged into seven main chapters – Dynamic Economy, Fulfilling Work; Education for the Future; A Fair and Cohesive Society; A Foundation of Health and Wellbeing; Responsible Stewardship of our Resources; Effective and Accountable Government and Vibrant, Winning Nation.

The main aim of the TN50 Youth Canvas digital highlight is to compile the final responses from youths to ensure that all their views and suggestions are taken into consideration before the full report is finalised and handed over to Najib.

The canvas will be one of the important inputs for the TN50 policy formulation by the Government in 2018 and beyond.